


maybe all of this is simple pt.1

by paintthetowngay



Series: maybe all of this is simple [1]
Category: Superstore (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Confused Amy, F/M, Frustrated/Jealous Jonah, they fight a little then make up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2019-03-12 08:46:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13543827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paintthetowngay/pseuds/paintthetowngay
Summary: “Did it mean anything to you?”. A question that made him feel so small.“What?” Amy took her normal tone.“The kiss.” His voice still as quiet, she swears she heard a tremble.“I don’t know.”“Well, that’s great.” His voice returning to normal. He felt himself fidgeting the way he always did when he felt tense.“I thought we talked about this.”“No, we didn’t.”





	maybe all of this is simple pt.1

**Author's Note:**

> Drafted this a long time ago but it felt out of character so I tried to rewrite it. Please do comment your thoughts!

The day had barely started and Jonah’s feet were already killing him. He never really got used to standing all day but mostly it was because of the backbreaking work he was doing all day yesterday and this morning. Moving was a lot more difficult that he remembered. He had originally requested for a later shift so he could sleep in but as usual, fate had different plans for him. Clearly one day was not enough time, not with the delays he had with his new landlord and the hour spent talking to his nosy neighbours and the mix-up he had with the furniture company.

 

Jonah walked into Cloud 9 with half the spirit he wished he had. His enthusiasm was habitually sky high or at least he pretended it was but today was just not his day. Everything in his life seemed like it was going to hell and he was stuck in a downward spiral. Getting a new apartment and moving out of Garrett’s felt like maybe he was finally putting back a little bit of his life back together.

 

Jonah sighed heavily as though it would suddenly make everything seem better. It did not.

 

“Hey, so how was moving?” Garrett called out to Jonah.

 

“It was alright, I still have a couple of things I have to pick up from your place” Jonah said. “I’ll drop by later to pick it up and I guess with that our Broventures are really over.” For some reason, Jonah stopped himself from winking at the end of that sentence.

 

“I meant it when I said don’t call it that” Garrett hissed.

 

‘Broventures’ was clearly sounded more fun to Jonah than it did to Garrett.

 

“Sorry, but hey, I really appreciate the past months. You really helped me out. So as a thank you, I will cook you dinner at my new place.” Jonah sounded more enthusiastic than he had expected.

 

“Nah, I’m good. I think I’ve had enough organic pasta to last a lifetime.” Garrett said. “I’ll tell you what, buy me a six-pack of beer and we’ll call it even.”

 

“Okay, deal but your loss. I made this new mushroom pie recipe with 7 different spices that I found on this new website. Sounded promising.”

 

“Oh, bummer.” Garrett said in his usual deadpan tone.

 

“Okay, I should go clock in.” Jonah made his way to the breakroom. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Amy talking to a customer at the electronics counter. Tall, well-built, brunette, man.

 

_Huh, pretty sure he was in here yesterday._

 

Jonah didn’t think too much about it, he probably needed to return a defective item, who knows.

 

The breakroom was quiet, a couple of employees were around staring at their phones and he spotted Dina in the corner having her lunch break. He waved and proceeded to his locker. Looks like it’s going to be a lowkey day and that would be good considering he didn’t have the energy to deal with anything today.

 

He carefully placed all his belongings and was on his way to Grocery when he bumped into Glenn.

 

“Hey, Jonah, are you busy with anything?” Glenn sounded rather jumpy.

 

“Well, I was just on my way to Grocery so uh, no.”

 

“Okay, good. Corporate sent over a truck of new in-store products and they want them to be on the shelf by tomorrow so can you help out in the warehouse?”

 

“Warehouse?” Flashbacks to the warehouse manuals made Jonah shudder a little.

 

“They had a potluck yesterday and everyone fell sick, it’s a complete disaster.” Glenn said. “Something about leftover sauce from the deli, it’s a long story. So, can you help?”

 

“Yeah, I’ll see what I can do.” Jonah regretted those words the moment he walked into the warehouse. Glenn was right, it was a complete disaster. On one hand, they unloaded the truck and on the other, there was about 3 employees left and all of them were sitting on the floor, looking almost passed out.

“Hey guys, Glenn told me to come over and help out with the new in-store products.” All of them got up before Jonah could even finish his sentence.

 

“You’re godsend, Jonah. Thank you so much. It’s the boxes with the blue tags.” Marcus said to him before rushing out with the rest of the warehouse employees.

 

“Wait, what? Where are you going?” Uh oh. Jonah cursed at himself so hard before resigning to the fact that he’s probably going to have to do this alone. He turned around to see at least 30 boxes with blue tags.

 

\-----

 

Amy was in the middle of placing 2 for 1 promotion stickers on DVDs when Glenn walked up behind her without her noticing.

 

“Hey Amy, it is okay if I asked you for a favour?” Glenn almost made Amy shriek.  
  
“Um, yeah.” She said.  
  
“Can you lock up today? I have to get home early for date night today. We’re going to Jerusha’s favourite restaurant and she gets really mad when they run out of her favourite milkshake. Last time, I had to sneak into the house through Timur’s bedroom on the second floor. I fell off the roof twice.”  
  
For some reason, Glenn always manage left her astounded. “Yeah, sure.” It’s not like she had anywhere else to be anyway. Adam’s place was closer to Emma’s high school and she’d stay over on days that she had to go to school early.

\-----

 

Few hours passed and Jonah had unpacked about half of the items. Good progress, he thought. He still needed to stock everything out in the store but not bad for a one-man job. It was definitely time for a break.

 

Today was a hot cup of instant noodles kind of day, Jonah thought to himself as he walked to Aisle 7. Healthy wasn’t an option on such a hectic day. Jonah bumped into Amy while making his way to the breakroom.

 

“Hey, I thought you didn’t come in, where have you been all day?”

 

“Warehouse.”

 

“Oh, the pot luck catastrophe.” Amy made a disgusted face.

 

“What happened? I saw a couple of them earlier and it looked like it was way more than food poisoning.”

 

“Beats me. A couple of staff even fell sick just from cleaning up the vomit in the toilets.”

 

“Wow. Guess I will not be using the toilet today. Do we sell adult diapers?”

 

Amy gave him a look.

 

“Bad joke, I know. Hunger does crazy things to a person.”

 

“Mmm.” Amy said in agreement.

 

“Excuse me, hey.” A tall figure shadowed behind Jonah.

 

“Can I collect the speakers?”

 

Jonah recognised the guy as he turned around. He was the guy talking to Amy earlier.

“Oh yeah, you can collect it at the Customer Service counter. It’s right at the front.”

 

“Okay, thanks.” He had a deeper voice than Jonah had imagined.

 

“Who was that?” Jonah really tried to sound chill, turning back to face Amy.

“Just a customer.” she shrugged.

 

Jonah raised an eyebrow at her response.

 

“What?” Amy gave him the same look, mimicking him.

 

“Wasn’t he in here earlier today?” he asked, truly curious.

 

“Oh yeah, he was returning some speakers, he thought it was faulty but it wasn’t.” Amy said.

 

“Uh huh.”

 

“Yeah, so I texted him that it was functioning and that he could pick it up.”

 

“Texted?”

 

“Yeah, he needed it quite urgently so— Why so many questions?”

 

“Nothing. Just thought you should know that was just a ruse to get your number.”

 

“What? No.” Jonah raised his eyebrows at her. “He didn’t even text me.” She said.

 

“So, if he texted you, are you gonna go out with him?”

  
“Mm, I don’t know, he seems nice” She shrugged. Amy hadn’t considered that idea. It did feel nice to flirt with someone. It’s been way too long since she really felt good in that way.

  
Jonah’s heart gave an uncomfortable thump. He half-expected her to say no.

 

“Oh, didn’t know you’re back in the dating scene.”

  
Amy chuckled. “Do people still call it that?” She turned to face Jonah. It was funny to tease him, sometimes she took it too far, but she always made sure she apologised.

 

He had an odd expression on his face, she noted,  he was still waiting for her to answer the question. She blinked, a little startled. “Oh, I don’t know. I hadn’t really thought about it.”

 

“Oh. Yeah, cool. That’s cool. So, um, I’m gonna go take my lunch break,” he said before walking off into the distance.

 

Amy’s face scrunched up, confused at what just happened.

  
Jonah stomped his way to the breakroom. He kept walking in hopes that he’d calm down but for some reason every step he took made him more frustrated.  
  
He had a million things running through his head that he wishes he could put into words but it was too jumbled up to make any sense at this point. Maybe he just needed some food to make his brain stop glitching.

Barely half an hour later, Jonah was back in the warehouse. It was an unsatisfactory break, that cup of noodles clearly wasn’t enough. But to be fair, he had lost his appetite somewhere between the warehouse and the breakroom. It was difficult to comprehend what he was feeling. He had no right over Amy, they’re friends, but just the idea of her dating someone wouldn’t leave him alone. The image of that guy popped into his head again and he grimaced.

 

A couple hours passed and Jonah was lowkey thankful at the amount of work he had to do. It meant he could turn his brain off and not think. Not thinking felt good. The shelves were mostly stocked at this point. He looked at his watch. Only half an hour before his shift would end. A sigh escaped his mouth. Looks like he’ll be working late today. Jonah considered walking over to let Garrett know that he wouldn’t be able to drop by today, however he reconsidered and decided to text him instead. Walking isn’t the best idea right now, he plopped himself down on the nearest stool in the warehouse.

 

Sent.

 

Jonah took a deep breath, scrolling through Facebook on his phone. A little break couldn’t hurt. He had to stay late anyway. What was it about Facebook that was so addictive when all it did was make him feel horrible, he thought to himself. Feeling resigned, he stood up, sliding his phone into his pocket. Time to get back to work.

 

He cursed at the amount of pointless, new products as he stocked the shelves. On his way back to the warehouse, he heard footsteps of the employees heading out. It’s no surprise that everyone clocked out on the dot, he thought, sighing for the hundredth time that day. Jonah resumed his work, determined to not mull over how not even a single person bothered to say goodbye to him. Not even Amy. But that’s probably for the best, he figured.

 

“Hey.” Jonah jumped at Amy’s voice behind him. Speak of the devil.

 

She chuckled a little. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” She looked around the warehouse. “Oh wow. That’s a lot of boxes.” Being understaffed should be normal to Amy by now, yet it still made her want to curse.

 

“What are you still doing here?” He thought she would have left by now.

 

“Oh, Glenn asked if I could help lock-up the store. Something about date night.”

 

“Oh. I can do that if you want. This will probably take a while.” He gestured at the remaining goods.

 

Amy paused, considering his suggestion. “No, it’s fine. I’ll help.”

 

Right then, her phone buzzed in her back pocket. She looked at the screen and let out a small chuckle. Call it intuition, Jonah was sure it was a text from _that guy_.

 

She slid her phone back into her pocket and scanned the room before picking up a couple of boxes.

 

“Are you really going to date him?” he said and it sounded so whiny, he wished he had punched himself in the face instead.

 

“What?” He looked to her, nodded his head upwards and she somehow got it.

 

“Oh,” she paused, “Yeah, I already said yes to a date in a shabby bar this weekend.” She said, gradually snickering. It faded quickly when she saw him staring at her, all serious with his eyebrows furrowed.

 

“I thought you weren’t ready to date and suddenly you’re going out with a guy you just met.” He said, kind of yelling, kind of condescending, kind of everything that’s not nice.

 

“What?” Amy stared back at him, absolutely puzzled.

 

“You know what, forget it, maybe you’re one to go around kissing guys and then forget about it.” Jonah regretted every single word the moment they left his mouth. He didn’t say things like this. “Sorry,” he shook his head, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean that.”

 

“Jonah, I was joking.” Amy’s voice became sterner with every word.

 

“So, you’re not—”

 

“No.”

 

“Oh,” he said, quickly realising his mistake.

 

“What’s this about?” She asked, irritated and confused.

 

“Nothing,” he said, trying to play it off.

 

She raised her eyebrows because that clearly wasn’t nothing.

  
“I didn’t mean it. It’s been a long day and I’m just worked up over nothing.” Jonah found his usual tone and was truly apologetic for what he just said.

  
Amy sighed when her brain finally clicked. “Is this about the kiss?”

 

“No.” The answer flew out before he could even think.

 

“Then what is it?” Her voice raised slightly.

 

Jonah felt his feelings takeover and blurted louder than he intended. “I don’t know. Maybe it is, or maybe it’s that guy who’s been hanging around all day trying to get in your pants.”

 

Amy rolled her eyes. “Oh my god, I’m _not_ going to date him.” The tone of her voice clearly letting him know how irritated her was.

 

Silence swept through the room with neither of them knowing what to say. It lasted for what felt like a lifetime until Jonah uttered in a quiet voice, “Did it mean anything to you?”. A question that made him feel so small.

 

“What?” Amy took her normal tone.

 

“The kiss.” His voice still as quiet, she swears she heard a tremble.

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“Well, that’s great.” His voice returning to normal. He felt himself fidgeting the way he always did when he felt tense.

 

“I thought we talked about this.”

 

“No, we didn’t.”

 

“We _did_ after the stupid car ride.” How could she forget, it was so uncomfortable that she considered jumping out of the car.

 

“You said you didn’t know how to be around me.”

 

“Well, I really didn’t.”

 

“Yeah and you didn’t want to talk about it either.”

  
“You said it was _fine_ , that you didn’t need to talk about it.”

  
“Because I didn’t want things to get awkward and you were still married, what was I _supposed_ to do?”  
  
Amy opened her mouth, unsure what to say. It took her a few seconds and a sigh to speak again. “Um, well. Do you want to talk about it now?”

  
“What?”

  
Amy groaned. “The kiss.”

  
“Well, _you_ initiated it.”

  
It caught Amy off-guard. She really hadn’t thought about it. It was packed away at the back of her brain, filed away and never to be touched again. The last time she had ever kissed anyone besides Adam was when she was a teenager. She couldn’t even have called them men.

 

“I— I don’t know. I really hadn’t thought about it,” She paused. “It was just in that moment. I— Oh God, I don’t know, Jonah, I _don’t_.”

She didn’t want to think about it. Partly because she was afraid of what she’ll realise. Thinking about it meant that she had to address what the hell was that kiss about and then figure out what Jonah meant to her. Too many questions, too many emotions, and not enough answers.

 

She sighed heavily. “God, these boxes are so heavy.” She said, setting them back down on the floor.

Her hands flew to her forehead and pressed her temples. She could feel a headache coming on.

 

“I shouldn’t have brought it up.” Jonah said, turning around to leave.

 

“It scared me.” Amy blurted, surprising even herself.

 

Jonah turned back, the way he always did. She noticed that about him. Every time she told him something important, he always reacted with the same attentiveness.

 

“So—” Amy took a deep breath. “I tried to not think about it.” Her eyes fixated on the floor. Being honest made her feel so naked.

 

Jonah felt frozen in time, not knowing what to say or do. Well for one, he should really put those boxes down. He hadn’t even felt his arms start to ache with everything else that was going on.

 

“Amy.” His voice was a mix of pity and guilt. Pity for how wretched she looked under the dim warehouse light. Guilt for bringing up the kiss, for causing whatever she was feeling, for being someone who was caught between her and Adam. Really, he would take it all back. Every single word he said that was a tad too flirty, every time he stared at her longer than he should have, or when he glanced at her hoping she’d glance back. He should take it all back. To him, it was being friendly, being the one that annoyed her from the day they met, he’d speak and she’d laugh, and that was their relationship. Nothing more, nothing less. But nothing in life is that uncomplicated.

 

“It was difficult enough to think about divorcing Adam, so I—” Her face was heating up. She needed to sit.

 

Jonah was suddenly standing right in front of her. She didn’t hear him move with the amount of noise in her head. They stared back at each other for what seemed like an eternity.

 

“I didn’t get divorced because of what happened—” Amy’s hand motioned between them. “here.”

 

“Of course.” Jonah knew what she meant.

 

“Nor did I kiss you because of what was happening with my marriage.” Jonah nodded acknowledging what she said.

 

“Oh god, I need to sit.” Amy said stepping back a little, looking around for a place to sit.

 

Jonah stepped forward, closing the space between them, his hand reaching up to cup her face and another grabbing her at the waist. He gave her less than a split second to react before his lips touched hers.

 

Amy gasped and felt his moist lips quiver a little. She kissed him back harder, throwing her arms over his shoulder, one hand cupping the back of his neck. He had one hand on her waist, holding her oh-so-lightly.

 

 _Stupid Jonah. Always hesitating_ , she thought to herself.

 

Just then she felt his tongue brush lightly against her lips and her mind went blank. Jonah shifted his weight to pull her in even closer, his hand sliding deeper into her hair. She was kissing Jonah. Again. Neither one of them expected to be making out in a dim warehouse after hours but here they stood. Amy almost wanted to pass out.

 

He pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. Her heart was pounding so hard, so was his. Amy could feel it on his chest, hell, she could almost hear it. They were both panting heavily. “Fuck” Jonah managed to blurt out. Jonah don’t know what came over him to do that but it was too late to think when his hand was already tangled in her hair and his tongue very much feeling the inside of her mouth.

 

“Okay, now I _really_ need to sit down.” Amy said, trying to catch her breath.

 

“Sorry,” Jonah said, pulling a nearby stool. “I didn’t mean to do this to you.”

 

Amy found herself wishing the tornado had just swallowed her up that day so she could have just died kissing Jonah and didn’t have to deal with the consequences. It was like a bolt of lightning when she realised what she just said in her head. Amy blinked a few times pulling herself out of her thoughts, just in time to hear Jonah say, “I thought it would make all of this less confusing. I was wrong.”

 

“Yeah.” She said in agreement. She was definitely having a headache right now.

 

Jonah swallowed and found enough courage to say out loud, “Are _we_ a bad idea?”.

 

 “I don’t know.” Amy said with a sigh.

 

She was ready to move on from Adam. Absolutely ready. But with Jonah? Amy wasn’t even certain what she felt for him. But it wasn’t nothing, that’s for sure.

 

Jonah had gone very quiet waiting for Amy to speak. His hands fidgeted around, picking at a loose thread on his jeans.

 

On the other hand, Amy wanted to laugh at how ridiculous her life has been since Jonah showed up. 10 years of the same boring days turned into awkward conversations that made her wished she could disappear into thin air.

 

“Look, I understand if you’re not ready for a relationship.” It was important to Jonah that he didn’t pressure her.

 

“It’s not that,” Amy turned to face him. “It’s _this_.” She gestured between the both of them. There were no words to describe what they were.

 

“Which would be bad?” Jonah says, trying very hard to be careful with his words.

 

“No,” Amy noted how quick she responded. So did he. “It would be confusing.”

 

“Because?”

 

“Because we’re—” Amy scratched her forehead and tuck her hair behind her ear. “we’re—" She couldn’t find any words to say.

  
“You’re single, I’m single. There really isn’t much to it.”

  
“Jonah, it’s too complicated, we work together, I just got divorced, and then there’s Emma, it’s too much right now. What if things don’t work out?”

  
She swore he rolled his eyes at her. “It’s always going to be too much, that’s—” Jonah waved his hand around. “Life.” He hated how desperate he sounded.

  
“Okay, I really don’t need an inspiring you-only-live-once pep talk right now.”

  
He took her hands in his. “Amy, I’m saying we can take this slow, see where it goes. Whether this works out or not, that’s way down the line. We’ll figure out how everything fits together.”

  
She squeezed her eyes shut, as though trying to drown out his voice. “It’s not that simple.”

  
“It can be.”

 

“Way down the line, I might be in love with you, it’ll be too hard to end this.” Amy’s voice started to quiver. “Jonah, I’m not ready for my life to fall apart again, I can’t do that again.” She sighed heavily before standing up and pacing around. “I just—”

  
“I get it.” Jonah interrupted her before she could even figure out what the end of that sentence was going to be.  
  
Amy couldn’t bring herself to turn around and face Jonah, just hearing his voice was enough to make her heart ache.  
  
“You’re right, this—” He took a deep breath. “would be careless.”

 

She heard him stand up, followed by footsteps behind her. He slightly brushed her as he walked past, picking up the boxes on his way out of the warehouse.

 

Amy took a deep breath to compose herself. She brought a sleeve up to her eyes to dry the tears welling up, wishing the lump in her throat would disappear as fast as it appeared.

They spent the next 2 hours or so in complete silence. Amy occasionally caught glances at Jonah’s blank expression. It was probably the first time she has spent so long with Jonah where he didn’t say a word, not even a peep. Amy wanted to scream at how uncomfortable it felt. This is way past awkward.

 

Today has really proved to Jonah how efficient he could be when he’s upset. Truthfully, Jonah doesn’t even think he’s upset, for the most of it, he just felt numb. The way his stomach was turning did make him wish he could just close his eyes and go to sleep. Maybe everything would feel better in the morning.

 

Amy arranged the last of the new products onto the shelves while Jonah tidied up the empty boxes in the warehouse. Sort of, anyway. The warehouse staff can do that tomorrow, he was too tired to care. It didn’t help that all the warehouse did was remind him of the exact thing he was trying to forget.

 

Jonah made his way out to the warehouse to where Amy was standing. Amy turned to him and said, “That was the last of it?”.

 

“Mmhmm.” Finally a peep out of the most talkative man she’s ever met.

 

Amy clapped her hands. “Okay, we should leave before the doors lock.” She tried to offer him smile but he turned around too quickly, heading towards the break room.

 

 _Probably deserved that._ She thought to herself. Sulky, upset Jonah was a side to him she never thought she’d see. Jonah was always so cheery and positive. It was weird and alarming to see this side of him.

 

Jonah headed to the breakroom fridge to get the six-pack of beer he had bought earlier with the intention to give to Garrett. Guess he would just have to buy another one tomorrow. All he wanted to do right now is go home and drink till he falls asleep on the most uncomfortable air mattress in the world. Granted it was a donated air mattress so it was probably the best they had.

 

Amy and Jonah grabbed their things and hurried out of the store. She trailed a few steps behind him. Thankfully, they made it out of Cloud 9 just in time to hear the doors automatically lock behind them. Amy hoped Jonah would turn around and say something, anything. He didn’t. For the second time today, she watched him walk away carrying such a grim atmosphere.

 

“Hey, Jonah?” She called out before he got too far. Her voice sounded so small to him.

 

Jonah turned around immediately and answered back, sounding exceedingly upbeat. “Yeah?” He mentally facepalmed at how much he overcompensated that reply.

 

“Can we talk?” She said as she walked closer to him, carrying a troubled expression.

 

Jonah tensed up at the suggestion of talking. He was done talking. There was enough damage done from talking. He was afraid he was going to yell again at whatever Amy had to say and drive her further away. He fidgeted in his spot just as his hand reminded him of the six-pack of beer he was carrying.

 

He held it up in front of Amy. “3 beers each then we talk.” Amy reached out to grab one. “Deal.” He saw her troubled expression transition to relief. It made his heart feel a little lighter.

 

It was barely 5 minutes and Amy had chugged down 2 bottle of beer leaving Jonah somewhat impressed. He was halfway through his second bottle. The air around them still and cold. Amy held her third bottle of beer up to her mouth then lowering it back down.

 

“Oh god, I can’t do this, I’m too full.” She said, setting the bottle down on the bench once dedicated to Brett. She leaned back and closed her eye, inhaling deeply. Exhaling out, she opened her eyes and said,

 

“What _was_ that today?”.

 

Jonah realised he was too tipsy to lie, not even to himself. “I think I just really, really like you.”

 

Hearing it out loud made Amy’s heart thump. “ _Oh_ ,” She paused. “Okay.” The only words Amy managed to utter.

 

“That’s it?” Jonah’s head turned to face her.

 

She met his gaze. “I don’t know what to say.”

 

Jonah turned back and fixated on the empty parking lot. He sighed before taking another sip of his beer. Amy stared at him studying his expression.

 

The light made him look tired, drained. He did still look way too much like a Disney prince, Amy thought to herself. She let out a tiny chuckle and reached for her phone.

 

Amy scrolled through her phone for a little while but long enough for Jonah to get offended. He looked at her and almost hissed “Really?” in her face but before he could even open his mouth, she held her phone up to his face.

 

“There.” His eyes glimpsed at the screen before she pulled it back. _Of course, that guy would have a name like Reggie._

 

She tapped the screen a couple of time and then held it up again. “Deleted.”

 

His mouth twitched. Not quite fast enough for Amy to not realise.

  
His eyes focused on her as he said, “I’m sorry for the things I said. It was bad.”.

  
“Yeah, no kidding. Yelling really doesn’t suit you.” Amy peered at him.

   
Jonah let out a chuckle and she felt the tension in the air subside. Her heart felt lighter, finally able to drink that third bottle of beer. He let go a sigh of relief and said, “I just need some time.” The words he said to her was still ringing in his head.

 

Amy almost choked on her beer. “What?” She paused to think. “So like, we don’t see each other?”

 

“No, not that. Maybe we just need some space.”

 

“I don’t want that.” She admitted.

 

“Then, what do _you_ propose we do?” He glanced at her and saw her face soften. Her warm brown eyes watching the night sky as the wheels in her brain spun.

 

“When you said take it slow,” Amy spoke soft and hesitant. Like a child dipping their feet into water for the first time. “What exactly did you mean?”

 

“Whatever you need it to mean,” he said, reassuring her.

 

“Okay,” she looked to him.

 

“Okay?” Jonah searched her face for clues. _Oh._

 

“Okay.” She said again, this time firmer.

 

“Are you sure?” He nearly cursed at himself for being stupid. _Don’t make her regret this, you idiot._

 

He saw her eyes focus deeper on him before saying, “Yeah.”. Her lips upturned into a soft smile.

 

Jonah’s eyebrows jumped in disbelief at her answer. He was expecting her to say no and go on a rant which would only confuse them further.

 

His reaction made her shift in her seat, swinging her head to the front avoiding his eyes. Amy could still consciously feel Jonah’s eyes on her with wide grin spreading across his face.

 

“Stop smiling.”

 

“Sorry.” He said, very much still smiling like an idiot.

 

Jonah bit his lip hard to stop himself but all he ended up with was sore lips. His eyes watched her, carving it into his memory. Lost in his thoughts, he hadn’t realised Amy was now looking at his beaming face. “Stop it.” She said in a light tone, breaking into a grin. He leaned back, sighing in satisfaction. “I don’t know ‘bout you but today really took an unexpected turn.” Jonah suddenly didn’t feel tired at all.

 

“So,” She looked at him. “What do we do now?”

 

Jonah’s head jerked up, his eyes twinkling. “Do you like mushroom pie?”

 

“I’m too afraid to answer that.”

 

“Come on,” He stood up and held out his hand. “My place, I’ll cook for you.”

 

“I’m going to need at another beer,” She grabbed Jonah’s last bottle of beer before sliding her hand into his to stand up.

 

Amy was about to let go but she felt him tug at her hand. “It’s cold today, huh?” He said slyly, holding her hand tighter. He started walking towards their cars, trailing her along.

 

His hand was comfortably warm, she noted.

 

An “Oh!” escaped his mouth as he turned around to face her.

 

“You’re okay to drive, right?”

 

“Yeah, I’m good.”

 

Jonah continued on his way, noticeably with a bounce in his step. Their cars were parked a couple spots away from each other. He walked her to her car like a true gentleman, partly because he wanted to hold her hand a bit longer. He felt like a total teenager.

 

“So, you’ll follow behind me, yeah?” _Don’t disappear on me_ , he added internally.

 

“Yeah,” Amy slid her hand away from his to reach for her keys. “I’ll see you there.” She opened her car door as he went on his way.

 

It was a 20-minute ride to his house. 20-minutes too long for Jonah because all he managed to do was overthink. He would have smacked himself in the face if he wasn’t so conscious about Amy trailing behind him. Similarly, Amy had a million thoughts running through her head. Part of her wished she was drunk so she could stop being so nervous. Jonah pulled up into the driveway of his new apartment. He signalled a parking spot to Amy before heading inside. His unit was on the third floor, facing a small park on the other side of the building.

 

He pushed his keys into the lock just as Amy walked up behind him. “Just so you know, I did just move in this morning.”

 

“Technically, it was yesterday.” She countered.

 

Jonah turned to her looking absolutely resigned. “Still, don’t judge,” he said.

 

“No promises.” She said as the door opened. He stretched out his arm, ushering her into the house.

 

Jonah fumbled around a little, trying to get to the lights on. “Okay, so, good news is that I’ve actually premade the pie, but bad news is that I have to _actually_ bake it and I haven’t figured out the oven.”

 

She held up the bottle of beer from before. “You have exactly 5 minutes.” It didn’t even take Jonah half a second to spin around and head for the kitchen.

 

Amy scanned around the room. A couch and coffee table sat in the middle of the living with a couple of boxes lying in the corner. She let out a tiny chuckle noticing one was labelled ‘Linens’. Beside was a huge window, looking out into the small town they worked in. The place was plain and simple, less rustic looking than she imagined it. She shifted awkwardly around the room, not uttering a single word. Jonah was fumbling around the kitchen, shoving the pie into the oven. She made her way to the kitchen after gulping down most of her beer in hopes that her nervousness would die down.

 

She placed her bag and bottle on his dining table for 4, situated between the living room and kitchen. The place managed to look bigger than it actually was. The middle of his kitchen was even filled with one of those kitchen island that she had always wanted. “Mind if I take a tour?” She gestured at the hallway with 2 more doors. “Sure, there’s nothing there though.” He said, still busy with the pie. Amy walked down the hall to the first door. It was his bathroom, clean and spacious. Oddly modern, unlike the rest of the apartment. She even noticed how he had a blue and beige theme to it.

 

The next door led to his bedroom. The quality of the bathroom left her slightly disappointed when she saw his bedroom. There was a closet to the left of the room and another huge window on the right, this one with pastel curtains. The street light, presumably from the park outside, shined scarcely into the room but just enough for her to make out the room. There was a dresser with a full-size mirror next to it and a small night stand beside what seemed to be an air mattress.

 

“That’ll take about half an hour, but I swear it’ll be worth it.” He said, making his way towards her, subtly trying to convince her to stay.

 

“So, do you plan to get a bed or is this some sort of hipster trend I don’t know about.” She said, pointing at his tragic mattress.

 

“It’s getting shipped in a couple of days. Have some patience.” Jonah realised what he insinuated and quickly continued, “Alright, nothing left to see here.”. He steered her back to the living room, mentally facepalming.

 

“I like your bathroom though, it’s nice.” She said as she picked up her beer and finished it.

 

“Thank you, I really do try.” Jonah opened his fridge. “Do you want something else to drink? Lemonade?”

 

“Sounds good.” Amy was a lot calmer now.

 

“Oh yeah. It’s zhooshed with ginger and cinnamon.”

 

“I knew there had to be a catch.” She said.

 

Jonah handed her the glass of lemonade, studying her expression carefully as she took a sip.

 

She made a face and shrugged. “It’s not half as bad as I thought it would be.” He breathes a sigh of relief and checks on the browning pie. “Should be done soon.” He said, taking a seat next to her at the dining table.

 

“So, no TV?”

 

He frowns a little. “My bank account is a little dry right now.”

 

“Ah. We’ve all been there.”

 

“Figured a proper bed should be of higher priority.”

 

“It should.” She replied and Jonah wasn’t sure, but he hoped she was insinuating the same thing he accidentally did earlier. He sank into the chair, finally taking a break after a long day.

 

Amy glances at him. “You’re not going to fall asleep on me, are you?”

 

He chuckles, eyes still close. “What are you going to do about it?” He says smugly. She shifts in her seat and places a hand on his thigh. Jonah’s eyes popped open and saw her face inch closer to him. Her eyes watching his lips.

 

_Ding_

 

Amy’s eyes darts to the oven and then back at him, as though saying ‘ _Aren’t you going to get that?_ ’. He sighs in disbelief of his luck. He reaches up to her face, brushing his thumb lightly over her cheek. “That’s a real bummer.” Amy hummed in agreement, returning in her seat. Jonah stood up and went over to the oven. He almost wished he hadn’t suggested pie, now that it was ruining his life.

 

Utensils clattered behind her as Jonah was busy garnishing his fresh-baked pie. She took another sip of her lemonade feeling herself think clearly for the first time in a long while. Jonah hovered over her right shoulder to put the plate of pie in-front of her. She looked up at him.

 

“Hey, Jonah?”

 

“Hmm?” He hummed, meeting her eyes.

 

Their faces were barely an inch away. A smile spread across her face. “I really like you too.”

 

Jonah turned around to get his plate before his head could register what she just said. Before he knew it, he was grinning with a completely blushed face.

 

He returned to the table, this time opposite her and placed his plate down. It was so amusing to Amy to see how red he’d gone. His arm extended to hand her a spoon and fork, slightly trembling from happiness. She smiled watching his reddening face, clearly pleased with herself.

 

“Stop it.” He said, carrying the widest grin. “Hurry up and eat before it gets cold.”

 

She reached out for the utensils. “Mmhmm.” She said, sounding as satisfied as ever.

 

His eyes lingered on her a little longer, just enough to realise she was blushing too. It was the first time he’s seen her blush like this and he hoped it wasn’t the last. But just to be safe, Jonah took a mental picture of her rosy red cheeks paired beautifully with her bare skin.

 

Jonah took a couple of bites and looked up at Amy before saying, “So, what do you think?”.

 

“It’s alright.” she said. Jonah studied her expression. “I’m probably too hungry to judge right now.” She added.

 

“The reviews gave it 5 stars but I have to say, either I messed up or it’s the pie itself,” he said, making a face.

 

Amy rolled her eyes as she took another bite.

 

A couple minutes later, Jonah brought his empty plate to the sink, unsatisfied with the pie. Amy stepped up behind him, adding her empty plate into the sink.

 

She walked back to table where her bag was, to check her phone.

 

2:17 A.M.

 

“So—” He walked up beside her, wiping his hands dry.

 

“I should probably go,” Amy started. “I have class in couple of hours. Plus, you need to get some sleep.”

 

“Oh yeah, sure.” Jonah tried to not look disappointed.

 

Amy grabbed her bag and made her way towards the door. Jonah followed closely. “Today was good.” She said, turning to him. “Really.” Amy had felt so uncertain about doing this, but much to her surprise, it wasn’t as awkward as she had imagined it to be. Of course, right now it was only the both of them. They’ll figure it out the rest along the way. Together.

 

“It really was.” He leaned in a little and pulled her in by her waist. His arms immediately wrapping around her. She sighed into his mouth as they kissed. It was calm and delicate, their lips brushing each other in the softest manner. It sent chills down Amy’s spine. She was always a sucker for gentle moments like this. 

 

She pulled away from the kiss and rested her head on his shoulder, exhaling onto his neck. They stood in a hug, breathing in each other and his chin rested lightly on her forehead.

 

Amy spoke, still holding on to Jonah. “I really should go.” He chuckled, “I’m not stopping you.”. He could feel her cheeks smile against his shoulder. “I’ll be done with class by 4, so,” She paused, gathering courage. “would it be okay if I come over?”

 

Jonah smiled. “I’d like that.” He brought a hand up to caress her head before letting her slide out of his arms.

 

He walked her to the car in comfortable silence, their shoulder lightly brushing against each other. Amy tossed her bag into the car and got in. She stared back at him for a little while, with a tender smile on her face. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She said, before closing the door.

 

Jonah watched her drive away and then looked up at the brightening sky before going back inside. He lied in his uncomfortable mattress, giddy and fulfilled, drifting off to sleep with a smile on his face.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, there will be a sequel because I am absolute trash.


End file.
